Google, "Commute to Work at the Company Hotel" Proposal... Employees Unenthusiastic

Encouragement of Three-Day-a-Week Commute System
"Disrupts Work-Life Balance" Cynicism

As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, Google, encouraging employees to return to office work, is now offering a hotel discount event within its company campus.

On the 4th (local time), the US CNBC reported, "Google recently began selling hotel rooms at its Mountain View headquarters campus in California for $99 per night (about 130,000 KRW)." This event, called the 'Summer Special,' runs until September 30.

The Mountain View Google campus, known as 'Bay View,' opened last year. This campus, which accommodates 4,000 employees in the advertising division, features two office spaces, an event center with seating for 1,000 people, and 240 hotel rooms.

The new Google headquarters 'Bay View Campus' in California, USA, which opened last year [Photo by Yonhap News]

The advantage Google highlights for this event is that it makes the transition to hybrid work easier. Google promoted it by saying, "Imagine not commuting to the office in the morning," adding, "You can enjoy an extra hour of sleep and experience less hassle." They further suggested, "You can quickly have a delicious breakfast or exercise before starting work after leaving your room, and after work, you can enjoy a quiet evening on the rooftop or engage in fun leisure activities."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Google implemented remote work and has operated a hybrid work system since last year, requiring employees to come to the office three days a week. However, due to low participation rates, since June this year, the company has started monitoring attendance cards and reflecting office attendance rates in performance evaluations to enforce employee compliance.

However, contrary to the company's promotion, Google employees have responded cynically to the 'Summer Special' event. One employee posted a meme on the internal discussion board referencing Lindsay Lohan's "No, thank you" line from the movie Mean Girls to express opposition. Another employee said that living on campus during the summer could "disrupt work-life balance."

There were also opinions that $99 per night is too expensive. One employee wrote, "If it were about $60 per night, maybe, but $99? Thanks, but I'll pass." Another said, "I might consider it if the monthly rent of $3,000 included furniture, unlimited meals, utilities, and cleaning."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.